ABSTRACT
Relocation, a major life transition that can affect health positively and negatively, is moving from one permanent home to another. Many older adults will relocate at some time during their life. Relocation is also a complex process that requires careful consideration and planning before the move (i.e., pre-location) and adjustment to the new home after the move (i.e., post-relocation). The current article is a summary of content based on a comprehensive evidence-based practice guideline focused on management of relocation in cognitively intact older adults. The guideline was designed to be used across diverse settings by nurses and other providers. Pre-relocation guidelines include assessment for the need for relocation, interventions prior to moving, and outcomes for evaluation of the pre-relocation process. For post-relocation, content focuses on assessment of risks for not adjusting after the move as well as intervention guidelines to promote adjustment and outcomes for evaluation. Implications include advocacy for older adults by using the guideline, disseminating it, and conducting future research. [Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 42(11), 14-23.].
Subject(s)
Cognition , Aged , Guidelines as Topic , HumansABSTRACT
One aspect of an evidence-based practice (EBP) guideline on managing relocation in cognitively intact older adults is elaborated upon in this article. The older population is at particular risk for needing to relocate to a new permanent home following hospitalization for a critical illness, but planning for these moves is often done in crisis mode. The purpose of this article is to sensitize nurses to risks for relocation in critically ill older persons and to encourage application of the EBP guideline in practice. Recommendations for risk assessment are made including using existing and supplementary assessment methods and data. Implementing EBP guidelines such as this is one key element in providing quality care to critically ill older adults.
Subject(s)
Critical Illness , Geriatric Assessment/methods , Housing , Patient Discharge , Practice Guidelines as Topic , Risk Assessment/organization & administration , Activities of Daily Living , Age Factors , Aged , Critical Illness/rehabilitation , Evidence-Based Medicine , Geriatric Nursing , Health Status , Housing/standards , Humans , Needs Assessment/organization & administration , Nurse's Role , Nursing Assessment/organization & administration , Patient Care Planning/organization & administration , Patient Discharge/standards , Quality of Health Care , Residence Characteristics , Social Support , Socioeconomic Factors , Time FactorsABSTRACT
Little is known about the organization, characteristics or services offered by academic interdisciplinary gerontology centers located in higher education institutions. This article presents a description and an emerging typology of academic interdisciplinary gerontology centers based on information collected from the Websites of 47 centers. The emerging typology comprised three dimensions: focus, functions and specialty areas. Significant relationships were found between the center's function and focus as well as function and number of specialties. The newly developed typology is useful for classifying and learning about academic interdisciplinary gerontology centers. Students who have an interest in gerontology might use the classification system to select a school that matches their academic goals. Educators and educational administrators might apply the typology's dimensions in program development. The typology might also serve as a useful framework for future research and policymakers could use the information from the typology and center's Websites to support proposed policies. Furthermore, older adult consumers, their families and professional caregivers can use the information to learn about services and resources.
Subject(s)
Geriatrics/education , Interdisciplinary Communication , Universities/classification , Universities/organization & administration , Aging , Humans , United StatesABSTRACT
As the older adult population grows, the rate of relocation from one home to another will also increase. To promote planning for relocation to a new home and adjustment to this stressful life event, pre-relocation and post-relocation risks need to be assessed and interventions designed to facilitate relocation decision making and adjustment. The evidence-based guideline by Hertz et al. (2005) provides detailed tools and recommendations for management of pre-relocation and post-relocation processes with cognitively intact older adults by nurses and other health care providers in community-based care, long term care, and acute care settings.
Subject(s)
Adaptation, Psychological , Cognition , Evidence-Based Medicine , Aged , Continuity of Patient Care , Female , Guidelines as Topic , Humans , Male , TravelABSTRACT
A study was conducted to assess whether the screening behaviors of breast self-examination, mammography, and clinical breast examination differed among older women. Results have implications for nurses caring for older women.
Subject(s)
Aged/psychology , Breast Neoplasms/diagnosis , Mass Screening/psychology , Patient Acceptance of Health Care/psychology , Women/psychology , Activities of Daily Living , Age Factors , Aged, 80 and over , Breast Self-Examination/psychology , Breast Self-Examination/statistics & numerical data , Female , Geriatric Assessment , Health Behavior , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Health Services Needs and Demand , Humans , Mammography/psychology , Mammography/statistics & numerical data , Mass Screening/methods , Mass Screening/nursing , Mass Screening/statistics & numerical data , Midwestern United States , Nurse's Role , Nursing Assessment , Nursing Methodology Research , Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data , Patient Education as Topic , Physical Examination/psychology , Physical Examination/statistics & numerical data , Surveys and Questionnaires , Women/educationABSTRACT
A successful grassroots collaboration of faculty members from one Midwestern school of nursing to promote best practices in gerontological nursing is described. Recommendations are made for developing similar collaborations in other settings.
Subject(s)
Benchmarking/organization & administration , Cooperative Behavior , Faculty, Nursing/organization & administration , Geriatric Nursing , Interprofessional Relations , Aged , Attitude of Health Personnel , Curriculum , Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate/organization & administration , Evidence-Based Medicine , Geriatric Nursing/education , Geriatric Nursing/organization & administration , Guidelines as Topic , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Midwestern United States , Models, Nursing , Models, Psychological , Needs Assessment , Nursing Education Research , Nursing Evaluation Research , Program Development , Program Evaluation , Students, Nursing/psychologyABSTRACT
The purpose of this article is to report findings from two studies of community-dwelling older adults. The focus of both studies was on delineating relationships among perceived enactment of autonomy (PEA) and selected self-care and health variables from the perspective of Modeling and Role-Modeling nursing theory. Results indicated that PEA, representing the potential for self-care action, was positively correlated to perceived control and morale in Study 1 and to life satisfaction in Study 2. Significant differences in PEA scores were found based on the health indicators of participation in social activities and reliance on others for shopping in Study 2. In addition, Study 1 found that morale, gender, age, perceived control, and education accounted for 39% of the variance in PEA. Implications are discussed for designing theory-based holistic nursing interventions to support PEA in older adults and to direct future research.
